It is April 1900, in the Levant, on the imaginary island of Mingheria-the twenty-ninth state of the Ottoman Empire-located in the eastern Mediterranean between Crete and Cyprus. Half the population is Muslim, the other half are Orthodox Greeks, and tension is high between the two. When a plague arrives-brought either by Muslim pilgrims returning from the Mecca or by merchant vessels coming from Alexandria-the island revolts. To stop the epidemic, the Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II sends his most accomplished quarantine expert to the island-an Orthodox Christian. Some of the Muslims, including followers of a popular religious sect and its leader Sheikh Hamdullah, refuse to take precautions or respect the quarantine. And then a murder occurs. As the plague continues its rapid spread, the Sultan sends a second doctor to the island, this time a Muslim, and strict quarantine measures are declared. But the incompetence of the island's governor and local administration and the people's refusal to respect the bans doom the quarantine to failure, and the death count continues to rise. Faced with the danger that the plague might spread to the West and to Istanbul, the Sultan bows to international pressure and allows foreign and Ottoman warships to blockade the island. Now the people of Mingheria are on their own, and they must find a way to defeat the plague themselves. Steeped in history and rife with suspense, Nights of Plague is an epic story set more than one hundred years ago, with themes that feel remarkably contemporary.

It is April 1900, in the Levant, on the imaginary island of Mingheria-the twenty-ninth state of the Ottoman Empire-located in the eastern Mediterranean between Crete and Cyprus. Half the population is Muslim, the other half are Orthodox Greeks, and tension is high between the two. When a plague arrives-brought either by Muslim pilgrims returning from the Mecca or by merchant vessels coming from Alexandria-the island revolts. To stop the epidemic, the Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II sends his most accomplished quarantine expert to the island-an Orthodox Christian. Some of the Muslims, including followers of a popular religious sect and its leader Sheikh Hamdullah, refuse to take precautions or respect the quarantine. And then a murder occurs. As the plague continues its rapid spread, the Sultan sends a second doctor to the island, this time a Muslim, and strict quarantine measures are declared. But the incompetence of the island's governor and local administration and the people's refusal to respect the bans doom the quarantine to failure, and the death count continues to rise. Faced with the danger that the plague might spread to the West and to Istanbul, the Sultan bows to international pressure and allows foreign and Ottoman warships to blockade the island. Now the people of Mingheria are on their own, and they must find a way to defeat the plague themselves. Steeped in history and rife with suspense, Nights of Plague is an epic story set more than one hundred years ago, with themes that feel remarkably contemporary.

From the the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature: Part detective story, part historical epic—a bold and brilliant novel that imagines a plague ravaging a fictional island in the Ottoman Empire. It is April 1900, in the Levant, on the imaginary island of Mingheria—the twenty-ninth state of the Ottoman Empire—located in the eastern Mediterranean between Crete and Cyprus. Half the population is Muslim, the other half are Orthodox Greeks, and tension is high between the two. When a plague arrives—brought either by Muslim pilgrims returning from the Mecca or by merchant vessels coming from Alexandria—the island revolts. To stop the epidemic, the Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II sends his most accomplished quarantine expert to the island—an Orthodox Christian. Some of the Muslims, including followers of a popular religious sect and its leader Sheikh Hamdullah, refuse to take precautions or respect the quarantine. And then a murder occurs. As the plague continues its rapid spread, the Sultan sends a second doctor to the island, this time a Muslim, and strict quarantine measures are declared. But the incompetence of the island’s governor and local administration and the people’s refusal to respect the bans doom the quarantine to failure, and the death count continues to rise. Faced with the danger that the plague might spread to the West and to Istanbul, the Sultan bows to international pressure and allows foreign and Ottoman warships to blockade the island. Now the people of Mingheria are on their own, and they must find a way to defeat the plague themselves. Steeped in history and rife with suspense, Nights of Plague is an epic story set more than one hundred years ago, with themes that feel remarkably contemporary.

'Orhan Pamuk is the sort of writer for whom the Nobel Prize was invented.' Daily Telegraph 'Pamuk is the real thing.' Observer ' One of the world's finest living writers.' Independent 'Essential reading for our times.' Margaret Atwood 'Everyone should read Pamuk.' New Statesman An epic and playful mystery of passion, fear, scandal and murder, from one of history's master storytellers. 1901. Night draws in. With the stealth of a spy vessel, the royal ship Aziziye approaches the famous vistas of Mingheria, the twenty-ninth state of the ailing Ottoman Empire. The ship carries Princess Pakize, the daughter of a deposed sultan, her doctor husband, and the Royal Chemist, Bonkowski Pasha. Not all of them will survive the weeks ahead. There are rumours of plague - rumours some in power will try to suppress. But plague is not the only killer. Mingheria is on the cusp of catastrophe, and the future of a fragile empire is at stake. 'A wry meditation on nationalism and identity, on history and myth, on science and superstition, delivered with Orhan Pamuk's trademark storytelling flair.' Financial Times 'A tale of spies, conspiracy and murder . . . full of vivid characters.' Independent

As the death toll climbs, a Muslim doctor is also sent, yet the quarantine's failure prompts international intervention through a naval blockade.

From the Nobel Prize-winning novelist and the acclaimed author of My Name is Red—an inspired, thoughtful, and deeply personal book of essays about reading and writing novels. In this fascinating set of essays, based on the talks he delivered at Harvard University as part of the distinguished Norton Lecture series, Pamuk presents a comprehensive and provocative theory of the novel and the experience of reading. Drawing on Friedrich Schiller’s famous distinction between “naïve” writers—those who write spontaneously—and “sentimental” writers—those who are reflective and aware—Pamuk reveals two unique ways of processing and composing the written word. He takes us through his own literary journey and the beloved novels of his youth to describe the singular experience of reading. Unique, nuanced, and passionate, this book will be beloved by readers and writers alike.

In the winter of 2011 Nobel-Prize-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk took 8,500 color photographs from his balcony with its panoramic view of Istanbul, the entrance of the Bosphorus, the old town, the Asian and European sides of the city, the surrounding hills, and the distant islands and mountains. Sometimes he would leave his writing desk and follow the movements of the boats as they passed in front of his apartment and sailed far away. As Pamuk obsessively created these images he felt his desire to do so was related to a strange particular mood he was experiencing. He photographed further and began to think about what was happening to himself: Why was he taking these photos? How are seeing and photography related? What is the affinity between writing and seeing? Why do we enjoy looking at landscapes and landscape photographs? Balkon presents almost 500 of these photos selected by Pamuk, who has also co-designed the book and written its introduction. 'There is genius in Pamuk's madness.' -Umberto Eco

** PRE-ORDER NIGHTS OF PLAGUE, THE NEW NOVEL FROM ORHAN PAMUK ** Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 'Dazzling ... Turns the detective novel on its head.' Independent on Sunday 'Pamuk's masterpiece' Times Literary Supplement A brilliantly unconventional mystery and a provocative meditation on the weight of history in modern Istanbul. Galip's wife has disappeared. Could she have left him for Celál, a popular newspaper columnist? But Celál, too, seems to have vanished. As Galip investigates, he gradually assumes the enviable Celal's identity, wearing his clothes, answering his phone calls, even writing his columns. But despite pursuing every clue the nature of the mystery keeps changing, and Galip never feels himself to be any closer to finding his beloved Ruya. When he receives a death threat, he begins to fear the worst . . .

Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering, and the indomitable will of the human spirit. “A tour de force.”—The New York Times Book Review For Kivrin, preparing to travel back in time to study one of the deadliest eras in humanity’s history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received. But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin—barely of age herself—finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history’s darkest hours.

Knopf Canada is proud to welcome Orhan Pamuk to the list with an inspiring and engaging collection of essays on literary and personal subjects–his first new book since winning the Nobel Prize. In the three decades that Pamuk has devoted to writing fiction, he has also produced scores of witty, moving and provocative essays and articles. Here is a thoughtful compilation of a dazzling novelist’s best non-fiction, offering different perspectives on his lifelong obsessions. Pamuk’s criticism, autobiographical writing and meditations are presented alongside interviews he has given and selections from his private notebooks. He engages the work of other novelists, including Sterne and Dostoyevsky, Salman Rushdie and Patricia Highsmith, and he discusses his own books and writing process. We learn not just how he writes but how he lives as he recounts his successful struggle to quit smoking and describes his relationship with his daughter. Ordinary events–applying for a passport, the death of a relative–inspire extraordinary flights of association as the novelist reflects on everything from the child’s state of being to divergent attitudes towards art in the East and West. Illustrated with photographs, paintings and the author’s own sketches, Other Colors gives us Orhan Pamuk’s world through a kaleidoscope whose brilliant, shifting themes and moods together become a radiant and meaningful whole.